Already intense Celtics-Bulls about to take it up another notch

One of the most enjoyable and exhilarating first-round series the NBA has ever seen is about to get a lot more brutal. The Bulls probably have a little payback in mind after Rajon Rondo's foul.

TIM WEISBERG

One of the most enjoyable and exhilarating first-round series the NBA has ever seen is about to get a lot more brutal.

Although the NBA said no punishment would be issued for Rajon Rondo's foul on Brad Miller in the closing seconds of Game 5, the Bulls probably still have a little payback in mind. You should fully expect Rondo will be laid out on his first drive tonight in Game 6.

The Bulls were already hinting at it before Tuesday night, saying Rondo's continuing penetration needed to be addressed.

"I'm not going to do like Dampier and say we should just throw him down," Miller said prior to Game 5, alluding to Dallas' Erick Dampier's comments that Tony Parker should be put on his back, "but he's been a problem."

Rondo got the upper hand on Miller, and put it right across his face. As Miller slashed to the basket for what would have been a game-tying lay-up with under three seconds remaining, Rondo — the first defender on him — whapped him across the face with his forearm. Miller was bleeding from the mouth and required post-game stitches.

"You have to go for the basketball and (Rondo) didn't come near the basketball. He came right across (Miller's) face," Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. "I thought it was flagrant, and I thought it was a physical call. I agree that it is a playoff foul, but you still have to call it."

Miller was obviously affected by the head shot, and missed both free throws — the second was an intentional miss.

"We've had a lot of guys getting head shots this series, a whole lot of them, and there hasn't been a flagrant," said a still woozy Miller after the game. "Everybody's had to shake off these high hits that they've been putting on us."

Celtics coach Doc Rivers was critical of the officiating following Game 4, noting Boston center Kendrick Perkins has been whistled for offensive fouls on moving screens while Miller had been getting away with it throughout the series. That led to a $25,000 fine, the NBA standard for pointing out how inept their officiating is.

After Game 5, Rivers wouldn't be baited.

"I have no comment any more," he joked. "The coach stimulus package is done for me, for a while, OK?

"It was a hell of an instinctive play. And it was a great foul by Rondo. You always talk about playoff basketball. No lay-ups. Rondo did it on the very last play and it won the game for us."

Rondo said he wasn't trying to take Miller out, but he was also making it clear he wasn't going to back down to anyone.

"I was going for the ball," Rondo said, "but Miller, I don't know, he's probably 290 (pounds), maybe more than that. I'm a little guy, so I had to go for the foul hard. I wasn't trying to take a guy out or hit his head. "But I think he took it up in his right hand and I tried to make sure he couldn't finish. I may have hit him in the head, but I went through his arm first, trying to get to the ball and make sure he couldn't get a 2-point shot up."

"I'm not a dirty player, I'm just coming out there and trying to give him a hard foul, nothing flagrant."

Backs against the wall, the Bulls will likely come out swinging in a game already under tight watch by the officials. There's been more criticism of the officiating than TNT promos for "The Closer" and, quite frankly, something is truly wrong when Ray Allen fouls out of a playoff game.

Allen had some interesting words about the calls against him, saying he needed to see film of what happened because he actually had no idea.

"It's very subtle, but when we go by the screen, they slide right into you and they lock right into you," Allen said. "It's so interesting how Kendrick, throughout the series, gets hit with offensive fouls on those screens all the time."

How tonight's game is called will clearly affect how it's played, but one thing it won't affect is the intensity of either team.

The ire's raised among the writers as well. Eamonn Brennan, a Chicago-based writer and blogger for NBCChicago.com, wrote a piece Wednesday calling Kevin Garnett the "Worst Person in the World," berating the Celtics' injured star for his antics on the sideline, such as shouting in Ben Gordon's face and yelling "Choke!" as Miller attempted his free throws. He also called KG "the biggest d-bag on the floor" and "classless," then posted another blog on MouthpieceSports.com where he continued to rip Garnett.

Wonder what he thinks about Gordon's crotch-grab after sinking the game-winner in Game 4?

Familiarity breeds contempt. (So does having to watch Joakim Noah argue every call.) There's lots of needling and jawing, and it's upped the adrenaline on the court and in the stands. Add in it's already the first NBA playoff series to ever include three overtime games, and there's no doubt this series is an instant classic.

"So far, in my career, this is probably for people at home watching, the best playoff series I've been a part of, just from the intensity of each game," Allen said.

Just wait until he sees what happens in Game 6.

Tim Weisberg covers the Celtics for The Standard-Times. Contact him at timweisberg@hotmail.com